Julia Bird can’t wait to attend the annual village party at the local stately home, with its tea tents, cake stalls, and… dead body in the maze?

The annual village celebration at Berrywick House is underway, complete with over-decorated cake stalls, fiercely contested flower competitions, and even a maze for the disappointed losers to hide in. Julia Bird, now a well-known – even notorious – member of the community, with her trusty Labrador Jake, has thrown herself headlong into the festivities. But her reputation for adding drama to any event stands up yet again when she discovers a dead body in the maze…

It seems Ursula Benjamin, village know-it-all, and prickly baking competition participant, has been strangled – and the killer has to be someone at the fete. As Julia grapples with finding yet another murder in Berrywick, she starts to wonder, could one of the competitive cake-bakers have taken the contest to deadly new heights? Or is there something darker in Ursula’s life that led to her untimely demise?

Embroiled once again in a murder inquiry, Julia isn’t about to leave the investigation to the police. Like it or not, she’s involved, and she’s going to help them solve the mystery. But when there’s another death, and it’s clear the murders aren’t isolated incidents, the stakes become even higher. Can Julia figure out the identity of the killer, and prevent any further dastardly deeds, before the wholesome spirit of the village is ruined forever?

If you like utterly gripping English mysteries, then you’ll love A Village Fete Murder. Perfect for fans of M.C. Beaton, Faith Martin, and Betty Rowlands.

 

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Julia always thought the term foolproof sounded like a challenge. She imagined rising to her full height of almost five foot six, placing hands on hips and saying, ‘Foolproof, you say? Well, we’ll see about that. You haven’t met this fool!’

‘Whoever heard of someone killing a person over a WI cake sale? … Having said that,’ Hayley said, in an almost apologetic tone, ‘I’ve seen someone killed over a parking space when I worked up North. And there was once an attempted homicide related to a pear tree– there was an axe involved.’

I’m wondering whether we should close the whole intelligence department and just have someone hang around the Buttered Scone for local intel.

 

My Review:

 

I have reveled in each of the three amusing and intriguing installments of this lively cozy mystery series. Much to the amazement of her fellow villagers, since Mrs. Bird’s arrival from London, their small village appears to have become a hot spot for homicide, with Mrs. Bird somehow always in the thick of it. And she has stumbled into yet again in broad daylight with a village fete being in full swing.

As with the previous two books, the crafty scribes known as Katie Gayle’s storylines were easy to follow as well as engaging, beguiling, and delightfully entertaining. The story threads were laced together with clever wry humor, brain and rib-tickling observations, perceptive insights, and uniquely quirky characters.

I hope Mrs. Bird has a long run as I simply adore her and doubt I will ever tire of her propensity to stumble into unusual situations and murders, or of her indomitable curiosity and inability to refrain from snooping. She just can’t help herself, she is a complete busybody. Luckily, she is also a smart and well-seasoned one.